China’s growth stands as a beacon for the power of trade. But others that have hitched their economic strategy to trade, like Mexico, have found prosperity elusive. Despite growing banana exports, both the Latin American banana exporters and Europe’s impoverished former colonies remain poor.

At least the elephant in the room is now indirectly mentioned via the term "human capital". As each panacea fails to usher in utopia we inch closer to the truth.

One thing we have learned over the past 15 years is that trade is necessary but not sufficient for development. Countries also need investment in infrastructure, technology and human capital. They need credit. They need legitimate institutions — like clean courts to battle monopolies — and help building them. Putting up a few barriers against banana imports, or tearing a few of them down, can’t do it all.

The users of the term "human capital" can ignore the innate parts of capability in humans. But at least the capabilities of humans are now acknowledged as mattering and differing. We can't just cut taxes, drop tariffs, and then sit back assured that the miracle of capitalism will then unfold. Sometimes when the trade barriers drop all we hear is the deafening thud of silence. But given the right set of human traits something like China's economic explosion happens. Economists will eventually approach reality on economic development. But they need to wait for the neurogeneticists to blaze the way first.

'Economists' should grow up and realise that since man ceased to be a hunter/gatherer all consumable production (ie wealth) is purely an artifact of human creativity.From the most sophisticated nuclear power plant to the handkerchief in your pocket - these items only exist because they existed as the 'brain-child' of a particular individual.
Therefore it is evident that material production (ie wealth) is purely a factor of the human mind, and ultimately all enivonmental and 'policy' decisions are irrelevant.

Free trade favors the free. Maquiladoras were still extraordinarily regulatorily hard to build until shortly after the 1996 peso crash, which also prompted a huge uptick in legal immigration to El Norte, leaving proportionately fewer people down there who believe that the US has anything to offer.

Voluntary trade can only go so far against Mexico's socialism and centralized power. It doesn't help that natives on the western part of the border agitate toward more socialism, rather than freedom in autonomy. But that's a bigger can of worms on a higher shelf.

Why wait for neurogenetics if you can press a concept like charter cities or seasteading forward? Those endeavors attempt to attract high talent individuals to a new place where their success or failure can be easily identified.

'Economists will eventually approach reality on economic development.'

I sincerely hope you're correct. The IQ of a decent economist should be sufficient to comprehend how the principles of human biodiverstiy can have economic ramifications. I think they'll just keep making more excuses to dodge reality. In the meantime, the 3rd world will continue to spread across the globe.

Randall:
"But they need to wait for the neurogeneticists to blaze the way first."

What is your optimistic scenario for when we could manipulate the phenotype of embryos, or at least destroy defective embryos? When could we manipulate the neural phenotype for living humans after they are born?

Mthson:
There is a bit of a paradox: more knowledge of human biodiversity is NOT desirable UNLESS that knowledge can immediately rectify phenotypic differences. It does not seem likely that the means to correct for defective phenotypes can be generated without first acquiring more knowledge about racial differences. Even when more knowledge is acquired, it does not necessarily follow that therapies will be developed quickly. While in the long run, more HBD knowledge might seem beneficial, it is unlikely that the time discount would permit more knowledge being acquire as the investment in acquiring this knowledge take a long time (and thus be highly discounted) to yield anything beneficial in the form of therapies.

Racial gaps are not the only percieved injustice either; what about the gaps within ethnic groups? Or, to put in an absolute perspective, what about the individuals within each ethnic group who do not have enough intelligence to understand the world (regardless of their relative position within that ethnic group)?

Erich:
What is the difference between charter cities and gated communities?

Charter cities is an idea backed by economist Paul Romer. Basically, it is "let's create more Hong Kongs", or setting aside some land or a city within a developing country as a place for the institutions of an established western power. MR on the concept: Tyler and Alex

"Millions of Mexican farmers become unemployed. Unemployed farmers go north looking for work"

So true Mercer, and then they find no work and go back to Mexico because of high unemployment in a now broke California... Meanwhile the Mexican government continues to welcome the sharp increase of illegal Americans in Mexico because it feels they provide a service to the economy. You figure it out, cause that's beyond me.

Some people are already genetically testing and selecting among embryos. The number of alleles they look at will grow by orders of magnitude over the next 10 years. The biggest thing holding this back at the moment is the lack of knowledge about what all the genetic variations mean. But that picture is going to change rapidly and I expect alleles that cause differences in cognition to start getting reported next year with more every year thereafter.

In at most 20 years time the advantage of in vitro fertilization (IVF) with genetic testing for embryo selection will become so large that people ambitious about their offspring will opt for IVF.

- The British were willing to rule it as a colony.
- The Chinese were willing to let the British rule it (but were unwilling to renew).
- Hong Kong is populated by Chinese.

- Which government will be willing to set up a piece of its territory for this purpose?
- Will the people of that territory have the needed "social capital" to make it a success?
- Where you going to find a Western government willing to rule the place as a colony?
- Why will that remote ruler pursuit laissez faire government in this colony?

By that response I can only assume that you are a middle or high school kid who still confuses Socialism with Stalinism. And no, Socialism isn't a subcategory of Fascism. Where did you get that? As soon as kids hearr the word "Socialism" they think of Soviet Union and Stalinism. It's like a tabu word. Something we have been implanted in our minds to automatically hate and reject. Talk about conditioning.

Anyway, as you don't know there have been far better examples of Socialism in the world than the Soviet Union, like Sweden in the 60s and 70s. Remember France in the 80s? No you probably don't. Today's the socialist option is called Democratic Socialism, but Mexicans and Americans are still far from it... Years behind the European.

And again, Mexico is not a Socialist country and it's far from it simply because a)it is too close to the U.S. and B)because the last two governments have been ultra-right wing governments. Now, I really don't think this has to be explained any further.

"The idea that the United States needs Mexico is absurd. Ridiculous. For what product or service?"

Well Randy, I think you are a grown man to figure that out without much effort. Perhaps asking something so obvious is a way to annoy just to have the other side come up with long explainations without you having to do any homework. So what if I come up with a full explaination? Are you really going to read and consider it? Or are you going to dogmatically believe that the U.S. doesn't need Mexico? Perhaps you also think that the U.S. doesn't need anybody in the world... Pehaps you think the U.S. has nothing but helpled the rest of the lazy Latin Americans, Europeans, Asian??

For those of us who aren't a quarter as clever as you are, can you explain the "so obvious" reasons why "the United States needs Mexico"? And why did you leave out Africa when you mentioned the "Latin Americans, Europeans, Asian"? Are you a racist?

Sarcasm so soon mike?? I'm really sorry for leaving Africa out by mistake. Would you like me to type every single country in the world, to make my point.

By your question "Are you a racist", I can only see how you project yourself. -Look who's talking!- The one who believes HIS country doesn't need anybody calling others "racist". We come to the donkey's sad but common propensity to make fun of long ears....

Meanwhile continue to think that the world is as you would like it to be. Hey we can all lock ourselves up in an egg shell and think we are god, right?

Well Randy, I think you are a grown man to figure that out without much effort.

In other words, the US needs Mexico for nothing at all, and you simply lack the intellectual honesty to admit it.

You only impeach yourself with your absurd ad hominem attack on a blogger like Randall who puts so much effort not only into figuring things out but into referencing and documenting things for the rest of us.

I started correcting a perception that Mexico was a Socialist country -that was the main issue- I then complemented with a thought about the mutual dependance of the two countries which really seemed to have offendend around here. Why did that part catch your attention first??

Yeah, yeah, and "Mexico is Socialist" Yeah, yeah, Socialism produces Fascism. Perhaps we are then to believe that Brazil is a monarchy, that Venezuela is a Fascism, that Argentina is an empire and that Bolivia is a nuclear power, that Hitler and Stalin were allies and that Mussolini invaded Franco's Spain...

I mean, listen to what you are saying and look at what you're typing, that's all.

Sorry, I hadn't yet seen your pitiable reply to Mike. Since you are familiar with the concept, I can only conclude a lack of self-awareness or perhaps an uncomprehending aping of other people's reactions to your antics.

Are you dyslexic? You seem to have great difficulty keeping things in order. Fascism is socialism. Socialism is not necessarily fascism. Ergo, one could correctly say that fascism produces socialism but not the other way around.

Argentina is an empire

Typing random absurdities does not make what I write absurd. As a rhetorical technique, it might convince a few other nutters but not anybody who matters.

You are not saying anything. Stop your dizzy prattle. Don't comment unless you are going to do your homework and supply real evidence. From all your comments so far you are clearly intellectually lazy. Don't waste the time of others with your laziness.

Bob,

Stop arguing with the dizzy girl. You are just filling up the comments section with nothing.

"Mexico has a free market economy in the trillion dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports"

From Wikipedia socialism entry:

"Socialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on the amount of labor expended"

Wikipedia's definition doesn't fit the CIA description.

I don't see how the US is dependent on anything from Mexico except oil. If you think the US is dependent on anything else from Mexico name it. We are not dependent on their immigrant workers. We have plenty of low skilled people born in the US.

The reason the U.S. needs Mexico is that, without Mexico, the guy who maintains the LAPD's most wanted list would be out of work. How could he support his family without that income? It's just not feasible with the economy in the mess it's in.

Oil is just oil. It doesnt really matter where you get it from, unless almost all nations agree not to buy it from country X.

We dont literally buy too terribly much oil from the mideast, but its all the same oil. No matter who we buy oil from, it drives up the price of oil and benefits all who own it. If Mexican production stopped, it would only make a small difference:
http://middleeast.about.com/od/oilenergy/a/me090607d.htm

I know that there are other sources of oil and that Mexican production is declining. I mentioned it because the US is currently dependent on oil from somewhere and that is the only thing I am aware of that we get from Mexico we really need. I am waiting for "no i don't said" to say what else we need from Mexico.

Canterell is not having any decline even if you saw it on tv. Socialism is not Fascism. Mexico is the world's 10th largest economy and it is not Socialist. Moslem doesn't necessarily mean terrorist. Mexicans are not leaning-sleeping on a cactus with a big sombrero on. Arabs are not -cannot be- antisemitic. Every country depends on something; for Mexico it might be oil, tourism, electricity and drug commerce; for Costa Rica it might be bananas. for Japan it might be cars and dvds; for the U.S. it is warfare, wall street, invation and other very moral and ethical activities. LAPD has nothing to do with anything in this section, even if nazi PBNJ thinks Mexican are the "bad guys" and Americans "the good guys". In fact only Americans seem to be the good guys of the world, right?

The U.S. is the most military powerful country in the world (I mean its government), and it can kick anybody's ass -except maybe Russia's- However, culturally the U.S. is a fifth world country where people get all their info from Fox, CNN or TIME; where adults act like children, children like adults, men like women and women like men.

While the rest of the world is interacting, becoming interested in each other and learning about other people's culture, history, heritage, languages, the average U.S. citizen continues to blame everybody for a particular world issue. It is a fact that the U.S. has the biggest and most impressive mass media infraestructure in the world, while also has the most misinformed citizens.

While nice white americans continue to live in dreamland they also keep thinking that the rest of the world is isolating itself from the U.S. (and allies). Nice white americans continue to impose a system they believe everybody in the world should embrace. They really believe they hold the front banner of democracy. They feel really sure about what economic, politica and social system another country should have, even that simply cannot apply in another region of the world.

The average white american continues to embrace that outdated kick-ass attitude while the rest of the world is moving on. The average american continues to see how his country is falling to pieces and still thinks that the rest of the world should embrace and love the "american way of life".

While the peoples of many countries continue to enjoy the constitutional right of free higher education and free medical care as a matter of course, Americans are worried about insurance companies (!?!) But hey, France, England, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden etc, etc, etc, even Mexico are probably to "Socialist" or too low-lives for you, right PBNJ??

While you continue to type absurdities in the only language you know, most Mexicans in schools speak a good level of English, French and other languages. While you keep yelling "Speak 'American' or go back to Tijuana" the Europeans speak 3, 4, and even 5 languages. Vouz comprendre? Es Ce tu parle françias? Se entiende aunque sea un poquito? TbI Ponimayesh? TbI Gavaritie po Ruskii? Sprachen Sie Deutch? While you continue to believe that only your "culture" has validity you are isolating yourself. Now that the U.S. finally has a decent President who is tolerant and willing to extend an open hand to the world, many americans disprice him and even start calling him an antichrist. (?!?) jeeez!

I wish to make a respectful exeption for all those wonderful Americans who believe in peace, in not blaming everybody for the problems of the country. All those wonderful Americans who don't share that kick-ass attitude and rabbid nationalistic fervour. Those wonderful Americans who believe any republic-country should have social programs for the basic needs of life, like education and medical care; those wonderful Americans who believe that inclussion -not exclussion- is the key for survival. I salute those who begin to discover that traditional religious and nationalistic loyalties are begining not to work. I salute those who believe that we are one planet, those who believe a our planet is a whole organism, and those who believe that an organism at war with itself is doomed. To them I respectfully salute. To them I consider my friends.

Ever since Mexico became a major world oil producer in the mid-1970s, with the discovery of the super-giant Cantarell offshore field, the country has depended heavily on petroleum revenues to fund government spending. Today Pemex, the state-run oil monopoly, provides more than one third of the government's total tax take. But oil production has dropped by nearly 30% in the past five years, the result of insufficient investment to replace Cantarell's dwindling reserves. Mexico's crude oil reserves will be depleted in only nine years, according to projections.

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Petroleos Mexicanos, the state oil producer, said output at its Cantarell field will fall by about 5.2 percent next year, the slowest drop in five years.

Production at Cantarell will fall to about 550,000 barrels a day next year from an average 579,990 barrels through the first 10 months of this year, Jesus Puente Trevino, adviser to Chief Executive Officer Juan Jose Suarez Coppel, said in an interview in Houston today.

Mexico is the world's 10th largest economy? 3 different organizations rank Mexico in 13th place in total GDP. Where does your imagination come up with your fanciful beliefs? And why are you too lazy to look up facts but not too lazy to write long fluffy comments? I fact-checked just your first 2 sentences in a few minutes. I didn't bother reading your other sentences because I didn't figure you'd be correct about anything you said. If you spent more time looking up facts and less time prattling nonsense you'd be better off and you'd earn some respect from people who read what you say.

Hey Mercer, don't take my word for it. Just make a trip to Mexico and visit the cities -not just the rural areas you see in the Hollywood movies- visit schools and universities. To just quote one, Mexico holds the second biggest university in the world, (around 300,000 students) and which has for many years been graded as also one of the world's finest. Having said this, perhaps now you are thinking Mexico has 10 or 20 universities and a few schools, right? You'll see Mercer, Even though it's not the U.S., Mexico is a country, a modern one, not an isolated wild territory like the Wild West in the XVIII and XIX centuries. Go ahead and broaden your horizons; talk to students in the cities -even high school students- you'll see how very many of them speak 3 languages.

This might sound strange to you, but the fact is that Americans are not so hot at Geography, World History, World Politics, no insult intended.

You'll se Mercer, on the one side you have all this macho, kick-ass, we're-the-best attitude from many in this section, who display how sure they are Mexico is socialist, who claim that the LAPD's most wanted list is made up by Mexicans, who confuse Socialism with Fascism, who think Mexico has only oil, and on the other side you have this little greasy beanner explaining things in a fairly decent English. And let me tell you that asking questions and displaying exagerated sensitivity is a lot easier than explaining thoroughly to a closed minded group that demands explainations. I'm assuming you've already checked my IP address, haven't you?

It's interesting to see how much people hold strong opinions -beliefs really- about issues and countries they know very little about, or nothing really. I do accept that it's not the majority of Americans that believe Obama is an "antichrist" -whatever that means-, but it is not that rare, just check around the Bible Belt. Sorry, but this section has made it clear that there's not a small number of American adults that have the thinking depth of the average Latin American or European middle schooler. Mind midgetry at its best: thinking we know while in fact we don't. It would be funny if it weren't so sad, considering this is the U.S. we're talking about. And I'm not saying "Americans are stupid" like the youtube videos posted by some British.

On what grounds can one say how much one "knows" about Mexico without having even been to Tijuana? Or just by making a week-long trip to a P. Vallarta resort? Many can't even find Mexico on a world map!

ON THE OTHER HAND, know that many of us beanners truly love the U.S. even if we are not the mojados or resident aliens living there and who are practically different nation. The U.S. was founded on the highest and most beautiful ideals ever conceived by political scientists. You just have lost direction. God damn it, understand that I kiss U.S. Forefather's feet! The world admires Lincoln, Jefferson, Franklin. Yes. The U.S. holds an urban, suburban and rural infraestructure worth envying. Yes, the U.S. believes in work and orderly freedom, that's why it is great. That's also why it is so sad, really very sad seeing so much red-neck mentality filling up blogs. I love the U.S.; many of my most loved friends are American, that's why it feels almost unbearable, reading how you guys insult and blame other countries like Mexico for the complexity of world issues. Get your facts straight and know the World, because the World knows the U.S. but the U.S. doesn't know the World. Mature.

Randy's so so picky: "3 different organizations rank Mexico in 13th place in total GDP."

Yes Randy but another 3 say 12th, another 4 say 14th, another 5 say 9th. Besides when does that change? On an exact set date!

No Randy, no. Your displays have an origin in the narcissism Erich Fromm so accurately defines. Look it up! I might not type English as beautifully as you do, but like I said: I'm just a dumb greasy beanner, but you are one of the many Americans with a College education but with the mentality of a middle school kid, filled with lots of righteoussness and self importance.

Since you haven't answered the dumb beanner's question, "How is Mexico Socialist?" I will now disregard you. The question still stands cause whether you typed it or not you seem to implicitly or explicitly agree with it.

-Click on any area of this U.S. map to see portraits of these fine, magnanimous Mexicans. Bless their hearts.-

That's a loco link! Everyone seems to be a really good spanish speaker who like tacos! Except for poor Todd Waybe Summers in Montana and Ahmad Zuhdi Abdel Fattah in Jersey. He likes falafel...And the PLO! Seriously, death to them all.

Randy... Randy... You have just illustrated the point i've been making in this section, which is that you are among the majority of American adults who have the mentality of the average Latin American or European middle schooler.

Say Randy, are you not even able to consider, to ponder in the shallows of your mind, to even imagine the possibility that my email that reads paula@yahoo.com could be the simple result of somebody named Paul and the extra "a" the initial letter of a middle or last name???
They should call you "The Cardinal" by the enormous faith and hope you have in yourself to go as far as possitively tag somebody and think to know him through a dull blog section... How can i possibly explain how gross and childish you conclussions are? How could anybody possibly make you see the amazing products of your narcissist imagination??

Relax Randy, just relax, being called "lazy girl" is not an issue for me and causes me no harm just as it is not an issue for somebody named say, Erik Anderson to have an email that perhaps reads: erika@yahoo.com. "Lazy Girl" Ha, ha, ha, you dumb ass. Perhaps I'll use your dull insult as my next alias...

In fact, i might be lazy because after a hard day's work I like to have a cocktail and scratch my balls while watching tv... and "girl", well, i really see nothing wrong with grils, Randy; in fact i recommend that you have the wonderful warmth, touch and embrace of a female every once in a while.

I really don't mean to expose you like this, Randy; i think you've expossed yourself, mainly as a fraud, as a childish mental case.

You are a FRAUD Randy and I simply like to call things by their names, for example, wine is wine, bread is bread, and what comes out of your keyboard: BULLSHIT.

"-Click on any area of this U.S. map to see portraits of these fine, magnanimous Mexicans. Bless their hearts.-" I think you are not even able to locate Mexico on a world map, Roppy. I think you should learn some Spanish, and perhaps other languages too.

You've also illustrated my point about the middle school mentality. Your stereotype has surely proven your belief that Mexicans are criminals by birth, ha, ha, ha, and that again Americans are "the good guys" and the rest of the world "the bad guys"

If there was a stupidity contest in your area, you'd win it! Actually, no... I think rather, that if there was a stupidity contest, you'd actually lose it out of being so stupid! ha, ha, ha. (You're probably too dumb to get it, anyway)

But don't worry "Roppy", you and many other kids fit perfectly into the educational wonders of your public middle school.

"That's a loco link! Everyone seems to be a really good spanish speaker who like tacos! Except for poor Todd Waybe Summers in Montana and Ahmad Zuhdi Abdel Fattah in Jersey. He likes falafel...And the PLO! Seriously, death to them all."

Unfortunately in 3 words you have 2 mistakes, one syntax and one spelling ha, ha, ha; so they can't really say that in Panama because unlike you, they do speak Spanish there. By the way, the word you spell "stupido" is actually spelled: estúpido. You are too estúpido to even learn a new word well.

Trying to tell me you speak Spanish...? You naughty, naughty. You are the typical example of the dumb ass with initiative.

Kindly go do yourself and continue dreaming that you'll ever be able to speak another language; and please take my advise and stop eating all that junk food you've been eating all your life.